We Have to Defeat It
by 1caiser
Summary: November 6, 2022. Ten-thousand players were trapped by Kayaba Akihiko in a Life or Death "game" of Sword Art Online. Kai Socrius, a previous Beta Tester, must work together with the other nine thousand nine-hundred players in order to finally return to the Material World... and wipe away the mask of the Internet. Alternate Timeline OC-Centric.
1. 1: Tutorial

**Summary: November 6, 2022. Ten-thousand players were trapped by the Kayaba Akihiko in a Life or Death "game" of Sword Art Online. Kai Socrius, a previous Beta Tester, must work together with the other nine thousand nine-hundred players in order to finally return to the Material World... and wipe away the mask of the Internet. **

**Alternate Timeline OC-Centric.**

* * *

**Sword Art Online: We Have to Defeat It**

**Chapter 1: Tutorial**

**Disclaimer: I do not own SAO and its characters, except for the OC's being introduced into the story. These characters belong to me, and me only.**

* * *

_Floor 1 / Starting City, North Bridge / November 6, 2022 / 6:00pm AST_

I stared down into the river.

I brought my hand to my face, gliding my fingers over the skin. I chewed on my lip before rising from the bridge's wall and started walking due north. The next city was about nine-and-a-half kilometers away; if I used my walking distance from school, that would take a little more than two hours. That was walking nonstop... it took about an hour to walk four-and-a-half kilometers from school.

Used to.

Used to, ever since a half-hour ago.

With a clank, I walked down the bridge, following the bridge and toward the city of «Horunka».

* * *

_Floor 1, Outer Fields, Half-an-hour ago_

My sword stopped shining as I finished the charge-based «Sword Skill», «Rage Spike». A deep cut revealing the orange wire-frame model of the «Frenzy Boar» NPC monster. It soon shattered into the polygons that indicated death of the entity.

I looked up as I rose from my stance and stared at the setting sun. The orange light mixing in with the pink-purple clouds created a feeling that seemed almost as if this world was real. This world: «Aincrad».

Aincrad. A virtual environment, a giant steel and iron castle floating in the air. It was everyone's "castle in the sky", though I referred it always as _Laputa_. I grew up with Ghilbi Studio, so it seemed fine to call it "Laputa" at times.

But this world, it was all data. It was a utopia from getting away from Life once in a while. During the Beta Test, I finally fully experienced a society that was not restricted to life. No one knew my real name, tucked safely away behind a screen name; my Internet alias, used for fan-fiction and for his League of Legends game-play: 1caiser... Kai Socrius. «Sword Art Online» didn't allow the space function, and so my name was shortened to "Kai".

I sheathed the one-handed longsword in my hand and stared at the semi-transparent screen before me. _Results; Exp: 24; Col: 30; Items: 0_. I sighed at the lack of items. Although the Boars only dropped material items, they could at least have sold for some money at the NPC stores, or I could have used it for other skills.

In the real world, the gaming magazines told of the development of Sword Art Online. There were no ranged weapons or magic, save for throwing items and the «Sword Skills» people harnessed in place of magic. In addition, there was said to have an unlimited amount of skills; cooking to smithing to farming... maybe even merchanting of one tried hard enough.

I spotted another creature, a Level 2 «Wolf» that was only slightly stronger than the Boars at the cost of some defensive stats. But, like the Boars, they could be easily slain with a sword skill. I ducked down and prepared my sword for another «Rage Spike», hearing the _reen_ charge sound effect and allowed the skill to propel myself forward.

The attack left me standing a few feet from the Wolf's shattering body, and my body glowed a bright yellow. I looked at my HP bar, still 100% from avoiding and parrying the monsters' attacks. Below was my screen name was current «Level», now 3. It took me well over 4 hours to gain 2 Levels. It was similar to TERA Online, only more realistic. But now I was the avatar, controlling my character's body as if it were my own.

NerveGear. It was possibly one of the best inventions known to mankind. The lame would know how to walk, the blind to see, and the deaf to hear. But it was only first used for medicinal and mental issues; SAO was the anticipated in Virtual Reality gaming.

The results of the battle finally popped up. Like the Boars, the Wolves only dropped a maximum of two material items. However, this wolf also carried a necklace accessory, part of the rare item table; a separate list that did not count to the item drop limit.

_Items obtained: Dull Claw; Rough Fur; Rain Necklace..._

I opened the menu with the flick of my wrist with my thumb and index finger touching each other. A semi-transparent screen appeared before him, featuring my character's equipped items, and 5 icons to the right of the screen. I tapped the Inventory tab into Equipment tab into the Accessories tab. The «Rain Necklace» was the only Accessory item there.

I selected the item with a tap of my finger, and pressed an icon of a crescent moon, «make into item». The item materialized in my hand, while a plus sign hovered over the item's name in inventory. It was a necklace with a small gem at the end of it, flanked by two larger stones. _Rain Necklace: Accessory; Battle Healing+10p_.

Skills judged your effectiveness of your battle prowess; the higher the numbers, the more effective. In this case, by equipping the pendant, I would be healing 10 Health Points, HP, every 10 seconds. That was the system for self-regeneration; it was determined by a value every 10 seconds.

I tapped the plus sign to equip the pendant. There was a soft sound effect of the _whoosh _of equipping items, but then dominated by a chiming bell.

I looked around, startled. The clouds in the background started moving faster, but the sun was barely moving. A random event? Suddenly, I was enveloped in a pillar of blue light, the animation signifying teleportation. And I didn't start it. Forced teleport...!

* * *

I found myself in the central plaza of the «Starting City». Blue lights transported players around him, quickly filling the square... the ten-thousand players that had logged into SAO that afternoon.

I looked about, seeing a rather tall individual with neck-length, blue hair. He was standing next to a taller, and older-looking, red-haired individual.

"Kirito!" I called, recognizing the avatar. However, my voice was drowned out by the crescendo of voices around him. Otherwise, teleported people quickly filled the gap in between Kirito and I.

"What the hell is going on?!"

"Forced teleport..."

"I just found a treasure chest! Send me back!"

"Get over here, GM!" GameMaster. _So they are not solving the problems?_

"Log me the hell out!"

Other voices clamored about, but the most prominent sent chills down my spine: the lack of a Logout Control. Slowly, I opened my Main Menu, accessed the Options tab, and my finger stopped at the bottom of the menu.

Next to the icon of an arrow pointing out from within a box, there was a blank.

The clamors rose again, where I turned at the implied lines of people's fingers. There was a small red icon, but the text was clearly legible.

[ System Announcement ]

Soon, another icon, sporting [ Warning ] appeared, and multiplied along with [ System Announcement ] to create a dome around the players. _Good... someone is here to address the problem..._ I thought, but I soon regretted that thought.

A liquid like blood started oozing out from between the checkerboard of icons, then coalesced into the red form of a SAO GameMaster... only this GM bore no face within its hood and no hands in its gloves, but rather shadows in place of the flesh.

"A GM...?"

"Why does it have no face?"

The clamors died down once again as the GM figure raised a white glove as if to silence the community. We were then greeted by a low, calm, male voice.

'_Players. I welcome you all to my world. My name is Kayaba Akihiko. Right now, I am the only person who can control this world._'

I didn't doubt the individual's revelation of identity. I recognized the voice, even after only stumbling upon the interview of Kayaba Akihiko speaking of the development of Sword Art Online on a midnight show. However, I knew that Kirito was a hardcore gamer with a great respect for Kayaba. I felt worried of Kirito's conscience now.

'_I think that most of you have discovered the fact that the Logout Button has disappeared from the Main Menu. This is not a bug. This is all part of «Sword Art Online's» system._'

"Part of the system?" I heard myself say. No... then that means..."

'_Until you reach the top of this castle, you cannot log out of your free will._'

Castle... This castle... the castle of Aincrad?! I was completely blown away by the proposition. Topple all 100 floors... it was possible, but the Beta Testers only reached the Eighth floor over the course of two months. To reach the 100th floor at four floors a month... it would take at least 2 years if us Beta Testers kept the same pace.

Then came the mind fuck.

'_... Also,_' Kayaba Akihiko continued, '_the discontinuation or dismantling of the NerveGear from the outside is strictly forbidden. If these things are attempted... the signal sensors of the NerveGear will emit a strong electromagnetic pulse, destroying your brain and stopping all your basic functions..._'

It was greatly tangible. The NerveGear, from the midnight interview's information, used the same wavelengths of that of the household microwave. Given sufficient energy, the waves could disrupt out brain's functions, create heat by vibrating the water in the brain, thus destroying it. My mind refused to believe this. I had to force myself to wrap my knowledge around his words, and form it into a simpler statement.

Destroy your brain. Stop your basic functions.

Fancy for saying "kill you". A player whom removed the NerveGear would surely die. A girl beside me shuddered as she fell to her knees. A player bent down to pick her up and pulled her close. I envied the other player; he still refused to believe the explanation of the lead designer of SAO. I was like the girl; we were done for.

My head turned to face Kayaba's GM avatar as he started to clarify. '_To be more specific, dislocation from an outer source of electricity for ten minutes, being cut off from the system for more than two hours, or any attempt to unlock, dismantle, or destroy the NerveGear... if any of these conditions are met, the brain destruction sequence will begin. These conditions have been made known to the government and the public through mass-media in the outside world. On that note, there have been several cases where relatives and friends have ignored this warning and tried to forcefully get rid of the NerveGear. The result..._

'_...regretfully, 213 players have already exited this game, and the outside world, forever._'

The crowd stared to laugh with their friends, as if still refusing or not believing the news. I, however, looked down at the ground in disbelief. 213 players already gone. So only about 9800 players are left?

And Kirito. He was one of the few friends I had made during the Beta Test. And other Beta Testers... they will die with burnt brains... and then what?

Kayaba spoke again. _'There is no need to worry about the bodies you have left on the other side. As of this moment, all TV, radio, and internet media are all repeatedly reporting this situation, including the fact that there have been numerous deaths. The danger of having your NerveGear taken off has already all but disappeared. In a moment, in the two hours I have given, all of you will be transported to hospitals and similar institutes and be given the best treatment. So you can relax... and concentrate on beating the game.'_

"What...?" I heard Kirito's voice, his voice escalating with each sentence. "What are you saying?! Beat the game! You want us to play around in a situation like this?! This... _this isn't a game anymore!_"

Kayaba seemed to ignore his words and continued with his announcement. '_But I ask of all of you to understand «Sword Art Online» is no longer simple game. It is a second reality... from now on, all revival in the game will no longer work. The moment your HP reaches 0, your avatar will be gone forever, and at the same time..._

_'Your brain will be destroyed by the NerveGear.'_

I couldn't help but glance at the bar in the upper-left corner of my vision. The value of 385/385 was set above the bar. My HP... and the moment it will reach 0...

I won't be respawning in the «Black Iron Palace's» courtyard again. No, the Beta Test is behind us... there is no respawn, no "revert to last checkpoint", no "extra lives".

The first time you die, it is game over.

No longer was this a game. It _is_ a second reality. Right now, our «reality» is Sword Art Online, in the castle of Aincrad. But these conditions... who would go out into the field knowing true death awaited them?

He knew what we were thinking. Kayaba went on: '_There is only one way to be freed from this game. As I have said before, you must get to the top of Aincrad, the 100th floor, and defeat the final boss that resides there. All players still alive at the time will be immediately logged out. I give you all my word.'_

This. Aincrad was reality, I forced out. I can't log out, I can't return to my apartment, can't eat or drink the foods and drinks I had bought, and can't see my real friends. No, I would be playing the game of Sword Art Online for who knows how long.

And just before I logged in, I had helped myself to a Dr. Pepper and Instant Cup Noodles. I can't go back to reality... no, I had just entered this Virtual Reality, and I can no longer return to the Real Reality?

_'And so, I will show you evidence that this is the only reality. In your inventories, there will be a gift from me. Please confirm this.'_

I pressed my right thumb and index finger together and pulled down. I accessed the general items menu, featuring all of my items, and looked at the top item; the newest item acquired.

«Hand mirror». I pressed the crescent icon again, and a simple, rectangular, fiberglass mirror appeared in my hand. It showed my avatar's face; with high cheekbones, thin eyebrows, strong eyes, and a hairstyle that barely reached over my eyes and, in the back, almost my shoulders.

I glanced around, noticing all the other players had materialized the mirror and looking dumbfoundedly at one another. Suddenly, one character was enveloped in a blue light, almost like fire. Then another. And another.

Soon, it was my turn. I could see nothing...

Three seconds later, my vision returned, all fuzzy and strange. I rubbed my eyes and ended up looking at the mirror in my hand. I was not the same avatar I was, with the features of a realistic anime character. Instead, my hair barely covered my eyebrows, reached over my ears, and sat neatly above my neck. My cheekbones had sunk and two black eyes stared back at me.

This was my real face.

The face of the twenty-year old life I had ever strove to leave.

Screams and shouts of disbelief resounded through the crowd. The «Mirror» fell from my hand and hit the ground, shattering into its polygons. Everyone had changed into their real selves. And so did the gaming sex ratio; some of the girls had miraculously turned into guys. I spotted a couple, a tall, droopy-eyed kid in pink protesting truths with this shorter, chubbier kid in green and brown. Everyone looked... normal.

NerveGear, my mind suddenly said. Everyone could be morphed by the high-tech scanning function the helmet used. It covered most of our heads, and so could do that. It could have used that in conjunction with «calibration» to figure out how tall we were. Hell, perhaps it could scan out DNA and derive how our faces looked and how tall we were from that strand.

I couldn't think straight anymore.

"Why...?"

'_...why am I,_' Kayaba started again, as if I had missed a few words, _'the creator of NerveGear and SAO, Kayaba Akihiko doing something like this? Is this a sort of terrorist attack? Is he doing this to ransom us?_

_'These are not the reasons why I am doing this. Not only that, but for me, there is no longer a reason or purpose in doing this. My reason is because... this situation itself was my reason in doing this. To create and watch this world is the sole reason I have created NerveGear and SAO. And now, everything has been realized.'_

Was there a hint of emotion in his words? Has he finally regretted those 200 deaths and will let us go?

His next words killed my hopes. _'And now, I have finished the tutorial for «Sword Art Online». Players - I wish you luck.'_

This last sentence trailed off with a faint echo.

The huge robe rose soundlessly and started sinking, hood first, into the system message that covered the sky, as if melting.

Its shoulders, then its chest, then its two arms and legs merged into the red surface, and then a final red stain melded within the net of the [ System Announcement ] and [ Warning ]. Right afterward the system message that had covered the sky disappeared as suddenly as it appeared.

Everything was silent again, save for the sound effects of the evening wind and the background music of the NPC orchestra. And finally...

The girl who had been beside me, now a short pre-teen with yellow hair and twin pigtails, had dropped her mirror and screamed in a loud voice. The action finally made the other players snap and shout their protests; the want for this to be a joke, a meeting to go to, the want to return home... but there was nothing anyone could do, save Kayaba Akihiko.

But he shall do nothing.

Kirito. I need to locate him.

The crowd was moving frantically now, and so I couldn't see him in the crowd. No, there was another with him; a redhead male. No, but with the «shift to real identity», perhaps his new friend was female?

I shook the envy from my head and concentrated on Kirito. What would he do...

_Next town._

_Only the people who get the most money and experience will get stronger._

_The NPC spawn points will be monopolized._

_The next town has a similar level requisite to the «Starting City». It is better now than with the crowd._

I bolted out of the plaza at full speed, as much as my «Dexterity» stat would allow me. I headed north, as the «Starting City» was at the southernmost axis of the base of Aincrad.

I turned a corner and my reflexes kicked in to dodge another running person. My leg lagged behind and the other person fell to the ground by tripping over the leg. I nearly lost balance as well, but managed to keep myself up with my hand.

"Excuse me," I said, walking to the individual and holding out a gloved hand.

"Yeah, thanks," he said, taking it. I noticed his hair was red, and I knew few people who had walked away from the plaza. If this «player» was walking back...

"Hey..." I said, "suppose you haven't met someone named 'Kirito'?"

His eyes lit up as he pointed behind him. "I did! He told me to go with him to the next town because people would start monopolizing the NPC spawn points. But I have friends back in the plaza and I'm out to get them..."

"Where do you think he is now?"

"Dunno. The bridge by now or something..."

I cursed as I flicked open my Main Menu. The Friends List was only a list to contact people listed on it, not to send friend requests. So I couldn't contact Kirito...

"Maybe you could «track» Kirito if you prepared the skill."

"Right! Thanks... uhh, name?" I felt embarrassed having interrogated the person without introduction. "In-game name," I said, "Kai."

"Klein," he said. We briefly shook hands. "Hey, since you know Kirito... does that mean you're a «Tester»?" He referred to «Beta Tester», but everyone used either word to refer the Beta Testers.

I nodded. "I met him first during the 2nd Floor Boss Battle. I managed to get the last hit, an accessory item called «Guilty Crown». We teamed up then, but he managed to get to the higher Floors because he wasn't in as a time constraint as I was. The last time I heard from him was that he was on the 8th Floor, studying «Katana»-based sword skills..."

"I see..." Klein then smiled. "That kid had a friend. Well... if you wanna catch up to him, you better hurry. He also told me «Nightfall» is not a time when you wanna be caught outside without a proper Level." I thanked Klein and started to walk.

I turned. "Klein!"

"Wha-at?!"

"Friend me!" I set my vision on his face until a green prism appeared above his head. I accessed the Main Menu and hit the «Messenging» tab, where a list of options: Trade, Friend, Duel, and Report; appeared. I tapped the "Friend" option, and then a plus icon, and an ingame message saying, "«Klein» has been added to the Friends List" appeared.

"Well then," I said, "may the odds be ever in your favor." I wasn't much of a _Hunger Games _nut, but the situation of «Sword Art Online» greatly mimicked that of the _Hunger Games_... a death game.

"Sure, whatever that means!" Klein said. "May the Force be with ya, then!" I laughed at the _Star Wars _reference before taking off.

Upon reaching the bridge, I checked my stats and equipment. As for my skills, I had an extra «Skill Slot» aside from my «One Handed Straight Sword». I would probably meet with Kirito later on, and ask him about starting. It didn't seem to fruitful to start with «Sprint» anyways.

I equipped the skill in the slot anyways. I kept to my inventories and equipment. I would had to be prepared if I wanted to fly «solo».


	2. 2: Kirito

**Sword Art Online: We Have to Defeat It**

**Chapter 2: Kirito**

******Disclaimer: I do not own SAO and its characters, except for the OC's being introduced into the story. These characters belong to me, and me only.**

* * *

_Floor 1 / Outer Fields / November 6, 2022 / 6:02pm AST_

I checked my inventory one last time before heading out. I wasn't missing anything, which was good for me.

I then switched my window to the «Field Map», where the main path turned to the left and connected the «Starting City» to «Horunka» in a winding path. Nine-and-a-half kilometers. Two hours and a few minutes of walking.

My eyes glanced at the clock. It was wintertime in Japan, so the sun was already reaching behind the mountains of the First Floor. I figured that Aincrad's calendar would coincide with the Japanese calendar. "And let's get to it!" I shouted, closing the menu and the map. After checking my belt pouch for my potions and teleport crystal, I broke into a full sprint. I came across the fork in the path and headed toward the left; east. I could hug the left edge of the path; by following that edge, I would arrive safely at Horunka.

During my sprint, I noticed a pack of wolves having spawned near the path. One of the wolves with its shining red eyes noticed me at a distance and started to dash toward me. It wasn't until another three strides until I entered the «aggro» of the other two wolves.

_Aggro: the distance between an aggressive monster and a player. When a player enters this distance, the aggressive monster will attack the player until it dies, its target is dead, or if the target exits this distance. The first player to enter this aggro, and stays in the aggro, is considered the target._

I lowered my blade to my side without breaking stride, hearing the charging sound-effect of the «Rage Spike» sword skill. I allowed my arm to extend, and the shining blade drove me forward. My avatar sailed past through the wolf, the blade slicing the wolf's avatar and revealing its orange wire-frame interior and finally shattered. When I landed, I brought my sword arm back charged for another «Rage Spike» through a second wolf. It too was reduced to a shower of polygons.

The third wolf was now in distance for its «Pounce» ability, and had lowered to the ground to prepare itself. I took the momentum from the Rage Spike movement and lowered my blade to my lower left, charging for the basic «Slant» skill. The wolf jumped up on me and I released the charging sword skill, effectively bisecting the wolf before it shattered as well. Complete with the encounter, I forged on east, not bothering to look at the items I had gained from the battle results.

The sun dipped behind the mountains, but I continued forward toward «Horunka».

* * *

It was about 7:15 when I decided to stop. I stopped and collapsed under a tree trunk, but that was mostly out of instinct; I was actually fine after running a few kilometers. I flicked open my main menu. I'm barely three-fourths of the way there; I was running the whole time after all.

It was time to set camp. First, you had to be clear of monsters in a ten meter radius before you could set up the «Campfire». That meant either monsters had to be driven off or killed. Then came a five second «channel time» to set up the campfire. Of course, a campfire could be used by multiple players, but only to a cap of four for each campfire. I scanned my surroundings for any monsters, but I instead found a glow near the path that ventured into a forest's entrance.

"Can it be..." I gasped as I broke full sprint toward the glow. I found myself shouting even as I was running to the glow. "Oi~! Kirito! Kirito!" I neared the campfire and found a kid, no older than fourteen, setting up a «Sleeping Bag». "Uhh... Kirito?"

The kid looked up. His face was that of a somewhat sheltered kid whom did not participate in physical exercise. He was lean, though his bodily appearance seemed to resemble mine when I was fourteen. His black hair lay neatly into thin spikes that pointed slightly away from his face. A larger lock of hair fell through the middle of his face, ending atop his nose. I believed he could be mistaken for a girl.

"You're not Klein," he said in Japanese, though the system easily translated his words into English. The Japanese syllables were barely heard amongst the soft wind and the system's translation. "Who are you...?"

"I could say the same," I replied. "But... I know only one person who could be ventured out this far from «Starting City», and that would be Kirito...

The boy's eyes brightened. He stared at me indignantly. "_Arienai..._" he whispered, the translation about the same volume as his whisper. "It can't be... Kai?"

"You're Kirito?!" I asked with a pointed finger.

We stood in complete disbelief of each other. The «Kirito» I knew... he had dark blue hair with thinner locks of hair and thinnish eyes. That Kirito was leaner in muscle than this one. So this...

"This is the real Kirito," I laughed. "You look like a girl!" I laughed some more, doubling over and gripping my stomach from sheer hysterics.

"Hey... you don't have to rub it in," he said, turning away and giving me a dirty look. He returned to his sleeping bag and flattened the fabric out. "What brought you here?"

I recovered from my laughing spree and summoned my own «Sleeping Bag». "I realized the workings of this «Death Game» just as you did. 'The fields surrounding «Starting City» will soon be hunted clean. It is better to move onto the next village rather than fighting for resources.' Heh?"

"I see you met Klein," Kirito noted. "That summarizes the reasons I wanted him to follow me."

I completed spreading the sleeping bag. "And he declined in favor for his other friends. Knowing you to be the recluse you are, how about we play this like we did in the Beta? Just the two of us?" Kirito stared at me. He was already in his sleeping bag, but sat straight up. "Listen. I don't have friends who play the games I do. The ones that wanted to didn't have a chance to buy the game. You're the only guy I can rely on anyways... right, «Tenth-Floor Tester»?

Kirito smirked. "Another Tester would probably killed me here for my items and gone on ahead for «Horunka». But..."

"But it's not the items I'm after," I answered for him. "It's the experience you have in this Virtual Reality because of the Beta. Information is more valuable than items."

"That's for sure," Kirito replied. "What information do you seek now, Kai?"

"We'll end up teaming together," I said, "but there are instances where we'll be flying solo. Is there any combination of skills that are the most suitable for soloing?"

Kirito stayed silent as he stared up at the bottom of the plate of the «Second Floor». I found myself staring up into the so-called "sky" as well. "You want «Searching» first," Kirito said, then paused. He opened his own menu and flipped to the Skills tab. "I forgot to equip my own Skills... As for the next few, never mind those for a while. They won't help you in what we're going to go through. In «Horunka», there is the quest «Secret Medicine of the Forest» that rewards you with the «Anneal Blade» One Handed Straight Sword, good until the 3rd Floor. Perhaps... even better with enhancements."

He went on to tell me of «Horunka» and its buildings. There was only the «Secret Medicine» quest available there, but among the village comprised of several filler houses was a Weapons Shop and a Tool Shop. At the weapons shop, Kirito advised only to buy a «Leather Coat». The «Bronze Sword» that the weapons dealer sold was not effective in the forest near Horunka, and even less against the monsters that dwell there. Above all, the sword had a horrible «Durability» stat.

_Durability: the amount of "uses" an item has. It could be counted as how many times it is used to strike an enemy, how many times it had been used to soak damage, or how many times a player activated it._

We found ourselves unable to sleep, and so we packed up and ventured deeper into the forest. I allowed Kirito to take the lead, since he was the only one familiar with the place. He stared back at me as I was equipping the «Searching» skill in favor of «Sprint». "Kai... are you sure you won't backstab me... PK me?"

_PK: Player-Kill, or the act of killing another player._

"I was PK'ed once myself, but in a different game. It was during when I was PK'ing, and I had already killed a few people myself. But when I was PK'ed and lost a majority of my items, I was greatly distressed. I felt how it was to be PK'ed; a major loss and a major setback. That was when I gave up PK'ing, no matter the advantage I would get from winning... lest it were a safe-minigame that required the slaying of other players. For the real deal, it would only be in self-defense, only if there is no window of escape." I closed the window and looked ahead. "Besides, if I wanted to, I probably would have done it while you were setting up your sleeping bag, or when we entered the forest. I'm Level 3, by the way."

Kirito gaped. "I guess that's what happens when you aren't stopped by a player asking for the ropes. You lose a lot of experience..." His face started to grow downcast.

"Hey... sorry," I apologized. "I didn't mean to..."

"It's not that," Kirito said, dismissing the problem. "Look. Horunka."

We headed for the weapons shop first. At the doorway, Kirito stopped and opened his menu, looking at the amount of Col he had scraped with Klein. "How about I buy the stuff?" I asked him. "I did manage to make up to some five grand of Col off of Battle Results and selling the spoils to NPCs." He smiled at me gratefully. After the purchase, I leisurely threw the coat at him. He then checked his reflection in the mirror. His face was sullen, as if he were reminiscing about the «other world». "Look, lay it off. This isn't a dream." I pulled out my sword and charged the «Rage Spike» Sword Skill and targeted it at Kirito. The «Safe Spot» of the town we were in refused the depletion in his health, but the impact sent him against the wall next to the mirror. There was a *beep* as a purple window appeared above Kirito's shoulder that said «Immortal Object».

_Immortal Objects were the only objects that had an infinite Durability and could not be broken._

"Oi!" called the weapons store vendor, his hands in exasperation. "Cut out the fighting! Get out and do it!" I merely glared at the NPC before sheathing my sword and reaching a hand out to Kirito. He only stared back with mixed emotions of anger and confusion.

"Kayaba has successfully trapped us," I said with the straightest face I could muster. "Let go of thinking about losing your old avatar. It's only imagination... something like that interferes with Reality enough." Kirito sighed before taking my hand and pulling himself up.

"Thanks..." Kirito said as he made his way to the door.

Not that I could have said the same to myself. I trailed behind him toward the item shop for supplies.

* * *

_Floor 1 / «Horunka Village» / November 6, 2022 / 7:30pm AST_

Kirito used his own money to buy several recovery and antidote potions. I bought about the same amount as he did, and we ventured out to the private house where the quest of the «Secret Medicine of the Forest» was given. A blast of smell that was reminiscent of Chinese herbal medicine wafted into my nose. Where Kirito politely sat in a chair of a small wooden table, I literally crashed into the couch. I was, albeit only in my instincts, beat.

"Good evening, journeying swordsmen," the NPC of a «Village Missus» said. "You must be tired, I do wish to offer you some food, but I do not have any at the moment. All I can give is a single cup of water or so."

"That will be fine," Kirito enunciated clearly. I had a slight idea why he would have said the long phrase rather than just normal "yes". He was taking my statement into consideration. The NPC turned to look at me and I quickly corrected my posture. "Err, don't mind me." The NPC nodded and produced a pitcher and a worn cup. She set the cup on the table, poured the liquid in, and set the cup in front of Kirito, whom drank it in one gulp. The NPC returned to a pot in the fireplace, stirring the mix.

'The «not giving any food» is a hint,' Kirito had told me earlier. 'Wait for the sound of a coughing child and the «quest mark» will appear over the NPC's head.'

Sure enough, there was the faint sound of a child's cough from upstairs. I glanced up at the ceiling before I saw the shining [!] appear above the NPC's head.

"Is something troubling you?" Kirito and I asked in unison. We glanced at each other and I stole a smile. He turned back to the NPC and we listened to the story of her daughter whom was struck by a severe illness. The village's medicine, the stuff brewing in the pot, had done nothing to even faze it. The only way to cure the illness would be to drink of the medicine from the ovules of predatory plants that inhabited the forest further west. Those plants, however, were hostiles and the ones that bloomed were rare. And as such, the Missus had lost hope in finding any. If a swordsman were to retrieve it for her, she would offer a long sword handed down in her family as an expression of gratitude.

"Please leave it to me!" Kirito called enthusiastically, bounding from the seat and bursting out through the door. I checked the NPC's reaction, which was of surprise. She then looked at me, to which I sheepishly said "I'll be back soon". With a bow, I hurried after Kirito. At the end of this, the quest log to the left of my vision was shining; updated tasks.

I found Kirito waiting by the western entrance. His lips were moving, but I spoke up anyways. "Dude, almost lost you if I hadn't known where this «Quest» thing told us to go. Perhaps you should friend me now."

He hadn't acknowledged me yet. Upon reaching earshot, I caught his last few words: "...sorry, mother... Sugu... for making you worry..." His face then loosened a bit in his surprise. His head turned to the western horizon, as if searching for a shooting star or something of the like.

"Yo, Earth to Kirito," I said, a little annoyed. "Do you copy, over...?"

"Let's get going," he said in a slightly depressed tone. And so I trailed on after him. I decided to ask him of his soft rambling later. As we neared the forest, a notification popped in the lower margin from my vision. I tapped the icon and out popped a message: _Kirito wishes to see your presence online. _I sighed with contentment as I tapped the «check mark» for "accept". Then we trudged in toward the western forest.

The forest was dark, but not pitch black. Everything seemed to rather have a tinge of blue; a result of the game's distribution of gamma to recreate light levels. When night falls, the gamma value drops to create a dark visual atmosphere. But, it wasn't enough to hinder one even while running.

"«Searching» is the best skill to have, other than your initial weapon skill, to have in this forest. The next important skill, «Hiding» proves useless against monsters that don't use visual targeting." He pointed at a yellow-rimmed cursor that had just popped up in my view. "That cursor is a slight dark red. You see stuff like that around here, even when you don't see the monster's name."

"Looks like a normal red to me," I half-whispered back. "Level 3 «Little Nepents» aren't going to be much of a problem to me." I readied my hand on the «Small Sword» on my back.

"Careful for the «ones with round fruit»! They generate an scent that attracts hostile Nepents; one could find himself to be surrounded by at least twenty of those things!"

"No problem," I said casually. I jumped from the underbrush and charged the «Sonic Leap» sword skill. I found myself targeting a rather strange plant anomaly; hulking green bulbous plant with an intricate knot of roots for feet, two vines ended with pointed leaves, and a large mouth that dripped a viscous materiel. I was directly aiming for the small "waist area" that joined it's nexus of roots to its pitcher torso; the creature's «weak spot». Hitting this spot would deal a significant amount of damage as compared to a normal hit anywhere else.

_The Nepents attack with a left jab, then a right, and then spits out corrosive liquid from its mouth. Get in close, and after the two jabs, retreat._

The Nepent, having noticed me because it sensed its surroundings rather than seeing them, raised its two jabbing vines in an intimidating manner. I released the «Rage Spike», sailing past the jab and marking the waist area with a bright orange. I heard the charging of a second «Rage Spike» before Kirito slashed at the same area, and the Nepent was marked with a yellow outline.

"«Horizontal»!" Kirito said, "Finish it!"

I smiled. "«Switch»!" I lowered my blade to my side as if charging «Slant», and I jumped up to the frozen Nepent. The yellow outline faded as I started cutting through the Nepent with my blade. The plant screamed as the blade finally finished slicing through the Nepent and it exploded into polygon fragments as I sheathed my sword. The battle results appeared before me, and I gained as much experience as I would have gotten from a «Frenzy Boar» outside the Starting City. The battle had taken no more than ten seconds.

"Split Experience," Kirito muttered. "Well, we'll get the «blooming Nepent» sooner or later. Just keep killing them, and we'll send messages to each other if we find one." I nodded. "Check each others position using the «Friend Locator» on the «Dungeon Map». Good luck, the «flower Nepent» has less than a 1% chance of appearing, but a dwindling «normal Nepent» population will cause it to spawn more frequently. The far north and south have the largest population of these Nepents. It's a good thing they're not packed, that being said."

I nodded and darted to the north, while Kirito headed towards south.

* * *

_Floor 1 / «North Horunka Forest» / November 6, 2022 / 8:27pm AST_

With my high level, I managed to beat down Nepents in about fifteen seconds per battle. A «Rage Spike» followed by a quick «Horizontal» or «Slant» to the weak area easily destroyed the Nepents. In the fifteen minutes I spent hunting, I killed about fifteen of these things. One per one minute. I didn't feel as though I made progress.

I shot a message to Kirito. _Intermission. How many Nepents have you killed?_

It was a while until Kirito responded. I was encountered by a sixteenth Nepent when Kirito answered. _Eleven. Just LV'ed._ Shorthand for "leveled up". And I thought I wasn't making progress.

_Plus five,_ I messaged back. I expected a message of flame, but Kirito rather stayed silent. I turned my attention back to the task at hand. I walked deeper into the «Northern Horunka Forest» and called upon the simple technique that brought each of the Nepents to their deaths. It would be fifteen more minutes until I reached Level Four, after the death of another fifteen Nepents.

I had been in the Forest for about forty minutes, exactly thirty-seven plus a few seconds. I decided to take a natural breather in an indentation within the maze's many paths. My «Small Sword»'s Durability had been lowered to half after slaying about seventy of these Nepents, scratches adorning the once sleek blade I was given. I was starting to become frustrated.

"_'Good luck, the «flower Nepent» has less than a 1% chance of appearing...'_" Kirito's voice resonated in my mind.

"I hate this game..." I said half-heartedly. I rose to my feet and walked out from the indent, and stopped. I ducked behind the wall. My entire body was shaking violently. It wasn't of fear... but of pure excitement.

My passive «Searching» skill revealed the lightish red cursor of a Nepent. Peeking out from my resting spot, I saw the Nepent against the moon, which was just dipping below the plate of the Second Floor, with its red, tulip-like flower. «1% Divergence» has come out to play. Why am I thinking of _Steins;Gate_ at this very moment?

I burst from the undergrowth, and charged the «Rage Spike» in mid-air. The Nepent had noticed me as I was jumping and precariously jabbed at me. The bladed vine barely nicked my leg, and my HP lowered by about three more percent. In total, I had around seventy percent more of my life, given the increase of levels I had accumulated. My glowing sword slashed through it's weak spot, and its HP fell to the yellow zone. I prematurely stopped the attack short of the glowing effect fading before charging the «Horizontal» sword skill and felling the plant monster as easily as the «normal Nepents». The monster shrieked a rather different shriek than upon the other Nepents' deaths, but it too culminated in the explosion of polygon fragments. The flower had fallen delicately from the monster's head, and dropped a fist-sized ball before shattering just as its source had done. That ball rolled to my feet, and I picked it up.

_Quest item received, «Little Nepent's Ovule»._ This was the item needed to complete the Quest. I opened my inventory and stowed the quest item there, then headed for the «Friends» tab to contact Kirito. Before pressing his name, I noticed that he was at forty percent of his health. _Ovule secured. _A message as simple as that should inform him of my situation. Now was time to get him one.

Then, a small message entered my screen.

_New PC._

New PC, 3? My mind scattered as I tried to decipher this new acronym. New personal computer? What would he need that in this world, and how would I get him one? I shook my head. I almost threw the message out of my head before I stopped.

_NPC. Non-player Character._

New Player Character. A gamer, like us, has entered the Forest. I opened my «Dungeon Map» and checked Kirito's location on that map. His location was due north, almost at a dead end. That would be the spawn point of the next «flower Nepent». I hurried to Kirito's location. We went over this matter; the PK'ing. I wouldn't be surprised if it was planned... but I had to make sure Kirito didn't die. He was far too valuable to lose.

I shook my head as I wandered toward north. "No..." I whispered. A «Little Nepent» spawned directly in front of me, and I quickly dispatched it with a «Horizontal». I sheathed my sword and doubled over, wanting to vomit. The game didn't allow the contents of my stomach to be withdrawn, but I could almost feel the liquid-solid gushing out of my esophagus. Horrible...

I got up and instinctively wiped my mouth. I checked the time; 8:37pm. It would be a nice time to retire to sleep soon. Even in a game, «sleep» and «food» were still necessity to the player, though eating food in-game would just cause electrical impulses to tell the hypothalamus that there is no need to eat any more food. NerveGear was an astonishing invention indeed...

After about ten minutes of walking, with a few battles here and there, two player cursors came into view. Sure, without the «Hiding» skill, I would be exposed as soon as they laid eyes on me. However, if I could stay in the underbrush, perhaps the «newcomer» wouldn't see me.

I found myself smiling as I saw a green cursor. Then I saw a large amount of lightish pink cursors appear through the bushes. One, two, five, seven, then too many to count. Has Kirito popped a seed by mistake? Would he take the carelessness in doing so?

I then noticed a second green cursor almost fade away instantly. That was the player! He had used the «Hiding» to lure Kirito into this trap! So does that mean Kirito got an «ovule» for himself?

"It's futile..." Kirito suddenly said. I watched as he only watched the army of Nepents gather around him. "So that's it... Coper... You don't know about it, do you?" Was he conversing with... then it hit me. "This must have been the first time you took up the «hiding» skill. It may be a useful skill, but it's not quite bulletproof. Against _monsters that rely on senses aside from sight_, it's not very effective. For example, something like a Little Nepent..."

I dove ahead for Kirito, only to encounter a wall of Nepents. The scent was still attracting them, and even their non-sight could prevent me from making a preemptive strike. I was able to use one «Horizontal» to wipe out three in a row, all slicing through the «weak spot». I soon made a hole to accompany Kirito. I made small talk as I reentered a battle stance. "How goes the hunt?"

"A player almost trapped me," he said. "A «Tester». But... he forgot about the flaw of the «Hiding» skill. He's in the thicket over there." Kirito pointed at a small group of bushes and trees, where I could see the flashes of metal from a «Small Sword». "He'll be finished by the Nepents if we decide not to help him."

"You think he gets what he deserves?" I asked. I half wanted to help the player, but the other half told me to leave him be since he tried to kill Kirito. Only when Kirito nodded did I shift my stance to face the Nepents. "Then... I guess let's make a final last stand. You might wanna drink a health pot while you fight. Mitigate some damage." I heard the clinking of the crystalline flask as I counted the Nepents. Twenty-seven. That made thirty including the ones I killed, and the «Coper» was also fending off a number. "_Ikemashou_!" I shouted, not caring whether my «Language Setting» was set to English or not. It only seemed to fit to mood, given Kirito was Japanese.

The Nepents dove at us just as we dove at them. I charged a «Rage Spike» to dive into the fray, killing a Nepent. Their tentacle vines jabbed at my position, but I had ducked and unleashed a «Horizontal», killing two in one stroke and fatally wounding two more. A simple movement that carried the system's momentum caused their deaths. "Four."

I saw Kirito nearly doing the same, but alternating between «Slant» and «Horizontal» rather than using an occasional «Rage Spike». He took down three with ease, and then two more in rapid succession. I then chuckled as another «flower Nepent» emerged from the undergrowth and attacked Kirito. Upon killing that Nepent, Kirito was bathed in a golden glow and I couldn't help making a manual spinning move before stabbing my sword into the ground and clapping as Kirito went nearly berserk on the hostile NPCs. Of course; he leveled up again.

I hefted my sword to kill the Nepents that were heading toward Kirito from his sides. I used «Rage Spike» to dash to a Nepent and effectively kill it, before slicing through their ranks with a «Horizontal». It was like felling trees with a chainsaw. In the background, a noise resembling a sharp shattering entered my ears. Someone had died.

I frantically looked around and saw Kirito still fighting off two Nepents. He was fine... so that meant that the Coper character had died. Wonderful... damned backstabber. Either way, he was either ejected from the game for undertaking something so dirty... or he was punished for «attempted murder». I became a little depressed at the young one's death, but the attempted PK of Kirito told me that death was necessary.

"...Good work," Kirito muttered. A final farewell for a «Tester». I found myself saying the exact phrase as well. I then leapt forward and helped Kirito deal with the rest of the Nepents so we could return to «Horunka» together. No more Nepents spawned while we trudged back to the village.

The village was already occupied with a small influx of players, probably more «Testers» and maybe a few «newcomers» that tagged along. I checked the time; 9:00pm AST. It had been three hours since the completion of Kayaba Akihiko's «tutorial». I stood there in a slight daze, and Kirito dragged me to the house of the Quest giver. I had no reason why, but Kirito struck the knocker before entering. The «Missus» turned from her simmering pot, with a golden [!] floating atop her head.

Kirito merely walked up to her and handed the «Little Nepent's Ovule» to the NPC. There was a brief speech of gratitude, and the «ovule» was dumped into the medicine and walked over to a chest toward the south end of the room. Opening its lid, she lifted out a longsword in a red scabbard. The item itself looked worn, but that was probably only game graphic rather than mechanic. "...Thanks." The NPC said once more, and she returned to the pot.

"«Anneal Blade»..." Kirito, bathed in the golden aura of «leveling up», muttered as he crashed onto the couch. His eyes seemed to be watching the NPC stir the medicine mix. The NPC mixed the pot a little more, and produced a wooden cup from the shelves before pouring the medicine in and heading up the stairs. I turned for the door, but Kirito followed the NPC upstairs. "Let me... see something," he said absentmindedly.

So I trudged up the stairs after him.

Kirito had followed the NPC to a bedroom. The NPC helped a little girl, not much older than eight, whom was deathly pale. Only when she opened her eyes did I acknowledge the fact that life hadn't left her yet. The cursor icon appeared over the girl's head: «Agatha [NPC]».

"Agatha," the NPC Missus spoke, "the traveling swordsman got some medicine for you from the forest. If you drink this, you'll get better for sure." The girl obliged in a cute voice as she took the cup in both hands and gulped down the medicine. All this, Kirito watched beside the girl's bed, shoulder's slumped.

"Thank you, big brother." I felt a sudden shake. I could easily transcribe that voice into the Japanese language... and it would sound all the more beautiful. _'Arigatou... Onii-chan.' _I then noticed Kirito was trembling, shallow breaths exiting his mouth as though he had lost all composure. Then, he broke down; he fell to his knees and his hands found white sheets to strangle as his shoulders quaked uncontrollably. I turned my gaze away as his sobs reached my ears.

This. This was what Kayaba did to people. One could not meet with the people one wanted to. That is what Kayaba induced; the new «reality» of this world. The creation of a «parallel world»... where one could only reminisce about the «real world» through memories resurfaced by the parallelism of this world.

_"...Naniga atta,_ _onii-chan_?" The translator failed to work. My mind had completely focused on the Japanese language. 'What happened, big brother?' Then, I glanced once more, and the NPC girl was stroking Kirito's head.

I entered the room, attracting the attention of the two NPCs. I turned away for a second before addressing Kirito. "I'll be at the inn. Don't stay too late... you need the sleep." He only continued to sniffle and sob. I pulled myself away from this scene and headed down the stairs. The «NPC Missus» had not yet returned to her original position.

A quest log appeared before me. _The NPC checkpoint could not be reached. Place the quest item «Little Nepent's Ovule» into the checkpoint. Activate the next checkpoint to receive your reward and complete the quest._ And so I did wordlessly. I produced the «ovule» and dropped it into the golden-aura'ed, boiling pot of medicine. Then, the chest at the end of the room shone gold, and I walked over to operate it. Another «Anneal Blade» had spawned for me, which I took into my inventory.

I seated myself on the couch and listened to Kirito's cries for a minute more before leaving the house and heading for the inn. What happened back at that house... it drove me on the verge of tears, and I later cried myself to sleep.

* * *

**A/N: A long chapter. These past chapters have been long for trying to stay canon to the Sword Art Online Light Novels. You can read them for free at [www. baka-tsuki project/index. php?title=Sword_Art_Online]. As always with external links, do remove the spaces before hitting enter.**


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